hog hunting... calibers you'd use first???

I believe I'd use whatever fun gun I wanted to play with at the time. I've always wanted to handgun hunt them.

I will not knock the people who have hunted them successfully with a 223. I have always been more of the opinion to use the cartridge that works when everything goes wrong instead of when everything is perfect.

Having said the above, if you can pick your shot, and make it count go for it.

There's a world of difference between what you want in your hands in a tree stand over a cornfield and what you want if you're sneaking thru the woods hoping to jump a buck from his bed.
 
I would recommend using a .454 casull in a lever action rifle. It delivers similar ballistics to 45-70 at shorter distances (like under 150 yards) and you have the option of scaling down to a colt 45 if you are concerned about overpenetration. Both calibers can be shot from the same gun and both are very versatile in terms of the velocity and bullet weight you want to design for it.
 
On the other hand, I have seen my grandfather put one down with one shot between the eyes, with a 22 short at butcher time.
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I remember those time also. The pigs were not wild but our own grain fed, guess that's why they dropped with a 22 lr. For hunting the wild ones I do like my 30-30.
 
DRT hog getter

I love the 6.8 SPC. It is a real hog zapper. Loaded with SST ammo it keeps them in one spot when hit. You have to do your part and know where to put the round. Many people aim too far back on the shoulder. It is a hog, not a deer. In front of the shoulder puts them down hard with the 6.8 SPC.
The 25-06 will do the trick also.
 
Last February I used Silver State Armory 5.56 77 Gr. Sierra MatchKing hollow points with excellent success. When I go down to Texas this coming year, I will be bringing an AR10 in 6.5 Creedmoor shooting Hornady 140 Gr. A-Max ammo.
 
I personally use my Ar-10 in .308 or my Ar-15 in .223 I have always had good luck with both of the but I'd say as long as you have good shot placement it doesn't really matter.
 
My piggie gun (and general hunter) is in .280 rem w/ 139 Interbond handloads.

Backup for piggies is a .243 win with a variety of factory ammos ... 100 gr soft points or 85 all-coppers.

But if I had to use a .223 rem, I'd use a 9 twist rifle (CZ 527) with Nosler factory 64 gr Bonded Flat Base rounds, or at least that bullet in a handload - this bullet turns a .223 into a real rifle with that wide nose and all:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/78...ase-soft-point-box-of-20?cm_vc=ProductFinding

Never know when a big one might show up:

https://www.google.com/search?q=hog...ChMI4s7DnuK1xwIVTyuICh1QSQkW&biw=1680&bih=917
 
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I think a lot of people would get some help here if we not only expressed our preference in caliber but also which bullets we use and which shots we choose. I shoot hogs with every rifle I own but I've previously posted my favorite cals. I try to get a quartering away shot just behind the shoulder. I use the federal fusion ammo most of the time with the 338 federal and very few hogs ever take a step after I squeeze on them.
 
No point to me in skating by with the minimum for an animal that is potentially dangerous, unless perhaps they are quite small. Best to have ol' faithful .308 or something close.
 
I have never been hog hunting, but a guy I work with is trying to get me to go to South Carolina with him this winter on a hog hunt and I believe I'm gonna take him up on it.

I'll take my Remmy 700 in .308 16.25" barrel loaded with 150 gr Sierra Pro-Hunters.

If I were to get serious about it, I'd say an AR10 carbine in .308 with a low power scope would be about ideal.
 
Rickyrick pretty much nailed the state of Texas hog hunting. Parks & Wildlife estimates the feral hog population in Texas at around 3.5 million. That's a lot of porkers. Recently Parks & Wildlife thinned out hogs in a near by wildlife refuge using a helicopter & rifles in .223.

My hog gun is a AR in either 300 Whisper or 308.
 
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